WITH a fresh burst of stories against Pakistan including wild allegations of the civil and military leadership aiding the Taliban, despite the fact that the Pakistan army is deeply entrenched in FATA fighting these very militants, one's focus naturally turns to the troublesome Indian presence in Afghanistan. The Pakistan government has continuously maintained that it possesses evidence of Indian assistance to terrorists and militancy within Pakistan, especially through Afghanistan. The history of India's RAW planning covert operations within Pakistan is not new and is part of the RAW signature across South Asia - now well-documented and published. It is in this connection that the story in Nawai Waqt regarding RAW hiring the ex-Afghan Chief Amrullah Saleh, who resigned recently and spouted venom against Pakistan's ISI In the now infamous Sunday Times story, must be taken seriously by the concerned organisations in Pakistan. After all, as the Afghan intelligence chief Saleh would have had access to Pakistan-US information sharing of a sensitive nature, which could prove valuable to India in its ongoing covert operations in Pakistan. That the US may have at least a tacit understanding on Indian shenanigans through Afghanistan is also becoming more apparent. A recent story in this paper reported how India had brought over a group of Israeli undercover operatives, led by a Jerusalem-based journalist Dan Williams, to conduct a media war against Pakistan which would create further cleavages and suspicions between NATO and the Pakistan military. According to the story, which has not been contradicted by any source, Williams is in touch with the Indian ambassador in Kabul. Under these circumstances, it is imperative for the Pakistan government to take measures to protect itself against such media targeting. We are already witnessing the fallout of the Sunday Times/LSE story and instead of putting ourselves on the defensive, by having to issue continuous denials which have little impact, a more proactive policy needs to be followed. Foreign journalists must be vetted carefully before being given visas and the authorities need to ensure that these journalists do not wonder off into areas not covered by their visas. Beyond this, we need to make it clear to our "ally" America that we simply cannot tolerate the questionable access being given to India in Afghanistan, including the presence of Indian security personnel and undercover operatives. Otherwise, it will add to the credence that the US and India are jointly working on an agenda that seeks to undermine Pakistan, its military and its nuclear capability.